When Life Gets You Down
by Alkuna
Summary: A lupe faces the horrors of a medical ailment and a physical disability in, of all places, the Pound. Do not read if you think you'll be upset by this story.


When Life Gets You Down  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own neopets.com You can't sue me, nah nah nah nah naaah! Okay I'm finished now. :p  
  
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! This story deals with some real life issues that may strike a chord with you, or it may make your heart hurt a great deal at bad memories. Even if you don't have the stomach for scary thoughts or medical ailments, be forewarned! The story here could be very real in someone's family though it's set in Neopia. Do not flame me if this story shocks or horrifies you. You have been warned.  
  
"Things went wrong almost from the start for me. I'm not perfect. I never was. I guess that's why I don't deserve happiness. After all, why would things go so wrong if I did?"  
  
"Kau dung," growled a gruff voice.  
  
"Well maybe. But you gotta admit, I sure don't live up to my name. Lucky. Yeah, stupid name for one like me. You wanna know about it from the beginning? Well okay then..."  
  
***  
  
"Wow, look at all the cute Lupe puppies!"  
  
"Awwww! They're all fluffy! Look at the little button nose on this one!"  
  
"EEEE! Look at the face on this one! KYOOOT!"  
  
I was picked up by a pair of hands and held up to the face of the one who was to be my new Owner.  
  
"I want this one! Look at those big paws! He looks like my little brother trying to wear my dad's huge shoes!"  
  
And so it began. My owner was a newbie, so we didn't really live rich. But we always had food, even if I did get kinda sick of omelettes and Soup after a while. But she brushed me, gave me baths (okay, I didn't really like baths so much, especially after a nice roll in the mud, but oh well), and played games with me. Then, one day, disaster struck.  
  
"Lucky, what's this?" my owner asked.  
  
I looked up at her sideways, the way she always loved me to do because she said it was adorable, "What's what Mom?"  
  
"This." Her face was serious and she rubbed my ear. That's when I felt it. A bump on my ear half the size of a Neopoint, "My mom had one... they called it a tyoo... too... tumor. She had to have surgery to get rid of it because it was bad."  
  
"Well then let's go to the Neohospital. Maybe they can get rid of it and we can go play outside later." I suggested, frisking over to the door to retrieve my collar.  
  
My owner followed me, but she didn't look happy at all. In fact, if I had paid any attention, I would have realized that things were more serious than I took them for.  
  
The doctor gently examined my ear and his expression was very grim, "Unfortunately this tumor is malignant. We will have to operate."  
  
"How much will it cost?" My owner's voice had a tremor in her voice I had never heard before.  
  
The Gelert doctor scribbled something on a sheet of paper and slid it over to my owner.  
  
Her face paled, "I don't make that much even if I had months to make it... I'm just not that good at any games other than Kacheek Seek."  
  
"Unfortunately, hun, he doesn't have that long. Those tumors will spread nasty and fast. If he doesn't get surgery soon, not only will his ear become permanently messed up, but he'll lose his hearing in that ear too. I'm sorry." The Gelert doctor looked very sad.  
  
I whined and licked my owner's hand as she sobbed softly.  
  
"Lucky, I have to take you to the pound..."  
  
I froze in mid lick, my tongue sticking out of my mouth, and stared up at her in shock, "Buh...wha..."  
  
"Lucky I have to! There's no way I can afford this. Someone else with a better income can do this... but not me... If I don't, you could lose your hearing. I don't care what you look like, but I just can't keep you. If I did, every day I would know that you could be in pain as those tumors hurt your ears. I can't be selfish, love." She knelt down and stared into my eyes, "I can't keep you just because I love you and don't want to see you go; not if it means you'll get badly hurt because of that one stupid reason."  
  
My heart twisted inside me as she said those words, but being an only pet, I matured a lot faster than those who had siblings. It hurt so much to hear it, but on some level, I also understood.  
  
Our trip home was a long, silent one. We spoke no words as I packed up the one toy I wanted to keep; a red Lupe plushie that mom had saved for weeks to buy for my One-Year-Old party. When we arrived at the pound, I couldn't stare at anything but the ground. I heard the mumble of conversation as she began filling out forms to put me into the pound. It took longer than I expected it to take.  
  
Finally she dropped the pencil, huggled me very tightly and whispered, "Write to me love. I want to know if you're being treated right in your new home. I love you." And then she was gone.  
  
There was a long moment of silence, then Dr_Death cleared his throat and knelt creakily down in front of me, "She really does love you, you know."  
  
"How do you know?" I demanded flatly.  
  
"Well, for one thing, she brought you here herself, rather than just putting you in the streets. That and she filled out these forms." The Techo tapped a small stack of papers.  
  
"What good are sheets of paper, old man?!" I snarled in a burst of pain and anger.  
  
If I expected him to be hurt, I was mistaken. He simply pushed the papers toward me, "No, don't rip them... read them."  
  
I flattened my ears and glared at him, then sulkily glanced down and glanced again, biting my lip as I slowly sounded out the words and tried to remember all the careful teaching mom had given me on how to read.  
  
"Forms of Abandonment, signed..." Yadda yadda... Then something else caught my eyes.  
  
"Finally, because we see many pets come and go here in the Adoption Center, we ask that you provide some information about your pet's heath needs. By doing this, we can be positive that your pet is placed in the perfect home where their new owners will take care of your pet and know what is needed. Does he/she need Neopkins every spring when pollen is heavy? Does your pet have a bad leg and need to be put with a family that doesn't need a pet made for sports? Does your pet need surgery of any kind?"  
  
And there, in my mom's sloppy handwriting, she described the tumors in my ear, carefully and exactly describing the surgery needed and the cost to get it done.  
  
"Also, what are your pet's likes/dislikes?"  
  
And again, mom wrote all about how I adored bouncy balls (Gotta love 'em!), got along fine with any pet except Chias (Hey, I'm a Lupe, what do you expect?!), how fascinated I was with the habits of wild Beekadoodles (I used to watch them all afternoon with binoculars) and how I had always hoped for a younger sister who would look up to me.  
  
Mom had filled out everything she could think of about me, telling them everything so that I could get a perfect home. She did it all for me...  
  
I sniffled and put the papers down, "Okay..." I said weakly, wiping my eyes, "Okay I get it. Where do I go?"  
  
D_D smiled warmly and led me into the back. He dropped the papers off in an office full of machinery and then took me on a tour. I was surprised at how nice the place was. Oh sure it wasn't the Astro Villa hotel, but it wasn't too shabby either. I was brought to a dorm room with two small but soft beds, shown around and had to admit the place was pretty nice. Then I was led to the cafeteria and shown where to get food.  
  
Finally I had to ask, "Um D_D... I hate to push the issue but what are we going to do about my ear? It may take too long for someone to pick me up. I mean... I have a lot of numbers and junk in my full name..."  
  
D_D smiled and squeezed my shoulder then took me back to the back room where the pink Adoption Uni was making copies of something. To my amazement, she already had fliers with my picture and requests for donations.  
  
"Lupe needs surgery! Even as little as a Neopoint helps this handsome fella come closer to the surgery he needs. Just add your Neomail address for copies of the surgery receipts if you want proof that your money went to where we said it would."  
  
And there it was, all the information anyone needed to help pay for my surgery. And they were even willing to prove to the donators that it was true.  
  
"Thank you..." was all I could whisper.  
  
Days became a week, then two weeks. Neopoints trickled in from all over Neopia. Even some of the ghosts popped in to cackle and drop fifty Neopoints into the jar. They probably stole it from some other Neopian but hey, they were still donating it to me. True to their word, D_D and the Uni kept tabs on who gave what, even making note to send a copy of receipts to the haunted house at the edges of Neopia where the ghosts were reported to hang out. Some pets and owners donated a little, some donated up to a thousand Neopoints a go.  
  
By the end of the third week, we had enough Neopoints to do the surgery and the last thing I thought before I fell asleep was' ~I'm saved. Thank you so much!~  
  
I was pretty groggy when I woke up, but the doctors assured me that it was a success. Some of my fur had been shaved and my ear was wrapped in a major bandage that made my head feel lopsided. But my ear would look perfectly normal except for a small scar as long as I took my healing potions for the first two days and my fur would grow back without a problem as time went on.  
  
So when I was put up for adoption again (I took some time off to make handwritten thank-you notes to EVERYONE who had donated, even the ghosts), I was feeling confident.  
  
"Whoa, check out the face of this one!" a human boy exclaimed, looking at me closely, "He's shaved... And his ear... Wow he's looks like the Phantom of the NeOpra or Evil Death on a bad day!"  
  
I rolled my eyes. Boy was this guy dumb. ~Everyone knows his name is Eliv Thade. Where does he get that dumb idea anyway?~  
  
Still I looked up sideways at him and smiled, trying to be charming.  
  
"Whoa. Check out the teeth in his mouth! Excellent! You're coming with me Lupe!"  
  
D_D had some reservations about this first applicant and refused immediate adoption to start, "This is only a trial period," he warned both me and the human who signed up; "Lucky is only visiting for the weekend, and then you bring him back. If he decides he doesn't want to stay with you, he doesn't have to."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the boy grumbled and we walked outside, into the fresh sunny afternoon.  
  
"Okay Lupe," my foster Owner said once we were far enough away, "I'm looking for a Battle Dome pet. What I'm gonna do is put you in a one on one battle and see how you do, then train you up from there. Got it?"  
  
"Uhhh... I guess..." I felt a twinge of uncertainty but shrugged it off. If I got some bumps and scrapes I didn't have to stay with this human.  
  
I was given a spark shooter and a pumpkin shield and was pushed into the area faster than I expected. Well, here went nothing.  
  
Nothing was right. I froze in place; freaked, when a ferocious Kougra sprang into the arena, decked in Kougra Armor and roaring a battle cry.  
  
I barely had time to throw up my shield before she took her first swipe at me...  
  
"Lupe! Lupe wake up! C'mon, you can do it!"  
  
Somebody was holding me and shaking my shoulder frantically when I came to.  
  
"Uuugggghhhh..." I moaned. My face hurt so bad I thought I must have fallen on it.  
  
"That's it. Hang in there. MOM! Come quick! Oh man, what was that dude thinking?! Blue Scorchstone, activate!" I finally figured it was the Kougra's voice as something heavy pressed against my paw and a healing tingle washed through me. The fain in my face faded, but something still seemed wrong.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Lucky, or that's the short of it anyway."  
  
"Okay now open your eyes. How many fingers am I holding up?"  
  
I blinked, frowned, blinked again, and then tried rubbing my eyes. Something wet came off on my paw and I felt something rough under my paws. I traced them. Long rough scars went across my face and across my eyes. None of the rubbing helped.  
  
"I-uh, I can't tell." I mumbled weakly.  
  
"Oh goodness, her paw is right in front of your nose!" a newcomer said.  
  
"I can't see her paw. I can't see my nose. I...can't see anything..."  
  
The Kougra gasped, "Oh Faeries! I blinded you! Oh I'm so sorry!" The Kougra was crying now, wet tears spilling on my face.  
  
I realized that the Kougra was holding my head in her lap.  
  
"Lupe, what level are you?" Asked the person I assumed to be the Kougra's owner.  
  
"I'm only level one miss. I thought this was a tester battle against someone my level..." I felt my face again, trying to grasp the idea that I was feeling my own blood and that somehow the Scorchstone left me with scars instead of getting rid of the injuries permanently.  
  
"What an idiot!" the owner exploded in fury, "Krista is level forty! It even says in her description not to challenge her unless her opponent is equal in stats. I guess we're going to have to look through each one of your challengers from now on... I'm sorry that lesson had to be learned the hard way though Lucky... I really am."  
  
"I tried to stop my attack... really I did! I'm so sorry! I saw that you weren't defending right and that your shield wasn't a good one but... I couldn't stop in time... Please forgive me..." Krista sobbed.  
  
I groped upward and finally found her cheek, which I patted gently; "Hey... you didn't know... It's not your fault." I tried to soothe her, even as a kind of cold feeling settled into my gut.  
  
"One last try, Lucky. A healing potion." The owner poured some over my face, which washed away the blood, then made me drink it all, though I could tell it was meant for a pet with a lot more hit points than I had.  
  
"Hmm, the scars have faded. A little anyway. Try opening your eyes again."  
  
I blinked again, and rubbed my eyes again, "I still don't see anything."  
  
"Where's your owner? Shouldn't he be out here by now?" The owner demanded angrily.  
  
"He's not my owner. I was only visiting him for the weekend to see if he would be a good adopter. I've been in the pound for a while since my ear surgery..." I said as the Kougra gently helped me to my feet.  
  
Slowly, patiently, she guided me off the hot sands of the arena.  
  
"Well we'll take care of THAT right away. Um, right after we get you back safely that is." The owner paused as I stumbled on an uneven spot on the ground and Krista had to catch me so I wouldn't fall.  
  
The trip back to the pound was difficult and very long. I stumbled many times, and whined in frustration as I was forced to rely on Krista for support. She never once complained though, and she was very reassuring when I jarred against her.  
  
My foster owner never did put in an appearance and D_D was absolutely furious when he heard the story from my awkward saviors. I was glad to hear him rave about blocking the guy from ever adopting again.  
  
The following week back in the pound was miserable. Krista and her owner visited me many times and stayed for hours, just visiting. I didn't do much wandering; and for a while, cafeteria trips were pure misery in themselves as I stubbed my paws, nearly fell down the stairs and many times got shoved aside by some hulking fatso who seemed to enjoy hearing me yelp in pain as I crashed into the wall and collapsed. Then, one day, someone new came to the pound and was assigned, for some reason, to share my room and take up the previously empty second bed.  
  
***  
  
"Yeah and what a mess you were," growled the gruff voice, "You were so into your deep blue depression that your fur really did turn blue. Man did that surprise me. 'Hey dude, I'm sharing the room with you. Whoa, weren't you a red Lupe, like, two seconds ago?' You looked like the bad end of a whirlwind fight too. You didn't exactly brush your fur much."  
  
"Heh. Well, I had reason to be bummed. Shall I continue?"  
  
"By all means."  
  
***  
  
Anyways, this new guy was supposed to be a Gelert who lived on the streets for most of his life and was some tough-as-nails hotshot.  
  
"Geez, what a gruffa."  
  
"What did you say?" I asked dully, not sure I heard him right.  
  
"I galled you a gruffa. That's Gull, the Gelert language for a loser. You just lay around all day like some baby bemoaning your state." The Gelert growled at me, then changed to a falsetto voice, "'Oh woe is me! I can't see! The world has come to an end!' Come on, what kind of wimp are you?"  
  
"One who gets kicked around that's what!" I snarled back at him.  
  
"So some half-wit shoves you around. So what? Bite him next time! You got ears boy! You can still hear! And you got a memory in that noggin, I know you do." The Gelert rapped me on the head sharply, "That ain't Meuka slime swishing around in there."  
  
"Dude, in case you haven't noticed, I really stink at fighting. If I bite him, he'll flatten me and I'll be served with the Faerie Pancakes tomorrow morning." I aimed a glare in his general direction.  
  
"There, see? You can still guess where I am so you aren't totally helpless. Besides gruffa, one thing you gotta learn is that it won't be served to you on a platinum platter. You want it? You gotta work for it. Fight for it. Do whatever it takes to push until you get what you want. If you gotta fight back when somebody picks on you, DO IT." The Gelert sat down on the edge of my bed, "Yeah you may get beat up but you know what? Even if you lose, you prove that you're way too much trouble to shove around and they leave you alone."  
  
I curled my lip and lay my head on my paws, deciding to ignore him. What I didn't expect was for him to be so darn stubborn.  
  
"Git up gruffa!" was my only warning before he dumped me on the floor, "We're going on a walk, or if I gotta, I'll walk and you'll just get dragged behind me. Don't think I can't, cause you don't weigh half as much as that Skeith I always had to tussle with for food."  
  
Thinking rather nasty and rude thoughts, which I won't repeat here cause kids may be in hearing range, I got up and walked out the door next to him. At first, he annoyed me to no end. For one, he never stopped growling. Second, his nails clicked on the wood floor so loudly I thought he was wearing high heels or something. On a male Gelert, high heels are a scary thought...  
  
Then I realized that with all the noise he was making, I was having no trouble staying by his side. And he was between me and the wall, so I didn't have to worry about bumping it as I walked. In his own gruff way, he was helping me get around.  
  
"Lard butt coming this way gruffa. Remember what I said." And then we stopped walking.  
  
I scowled, then heard someone heavy stomping our way.  
  
"Outta my way wimp!" came the familiar demand and a strong paw shoved me hard. This time though, I was braced for it and only slid a few inches.  
  
I snarled loudly and lunged at the paw, biting hard.  
  
"Owww! You punk! You bit me! You really bit me! That's it I'm stuffing you into the garbage can...in the girl's room!" I was seized by the scruff of my neck and lifted off the floor, the punk's bad breath hitting me right in the face.  
  
Perfect. I landed a punch right on his fat chin, forcing him to drop me, "Stupid Skeith!" I yelled, drawing attention from all corners of the hallway, "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean you get to push me around!"  
  
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Lucky" growled the Gelert, "You heard him. Back off you overgrown bully!"  
  
Dark muttering rose from the crowd and I could hear the Skeith shuffling uncomfortably.  
  
"BAH!" he finally exploded, "you losers ain't worth my time anyway." And with that he stormed off.  
  
I ignored him and stared in the Gelert's direction.  
  
"What?" he finally asked gruffly.  
  
"You did it... you called me by my real name," I said softly.  
  
"Well a'course I did. You stopped acting like a gruffa and started acting like a real Neopet. Losers don't get names. Only real pets do. Now come on, they're serving stew and I don't wanna miss it. Oh, name's Jonathan by the way, but people call me Feral."  
  
I walked with Feral all the way to the Cafeteria without a single mishap, other than a giggling girl holding the door open for me, then scratching a spot on my back that made my back leg start to thump. "Now that you're not hiding in your room, you're kinda cute Lucky," she chirped, before disappearing into the crowd.  
  
"Dude, she likes you!" Feral teased before guiding my tray to the counter.  
  
"Oh spare me," I muttered, rolling my eyes, even though I couldn't see out of them.  
  
Things began to climb uphill once Feral and I learned how to be a team. Once he showed me how to walk while testing my steps, he no longer had stop me at stairs. My hearing became a lot better and he didn't have to step so hard or growl so loud when he walked at my side.  
  
***  
  
"And that's it. That's my story up till now. I'm a mess, but I'm trying not to give up. I'm not really lucky like my name says, otherwise I wouldn't be in this bad a condition. So D_D, why'd you have me tell all that? You already pretty much know it all." Lucky turned his head in the direction of the old Techo.  
  
"Well, see, after your last bad experience we checked owners much more carefully. Believe it or not, Krista was the one who submitted the best match we've seen in a long time for you. She still feels terrible about your eyes, you know." D_D shifted behind his desk, making the chair creak a little.  
  
"I don't blame her for what happened," Lucky said quietly, "Things just happened too fast for all of us. She's a good Kougra, and her owner is very kind too. They made sure I got here safely, and they healed me as best they could."  
  
"I'm glad you like them, and they'll be glad too. They're the family that matched your owner's description." Lucky could hear the smile in his voice.  
  
His jaw dropped, "B-but..."  
  
"Hold on Lucky. Let me tick the things off one by one. You remember those one thousand Neopoint donations for your surgery?"  
  
"Uhhh, yeah. Those were what paid a big part of my surgery bill." Absently he rubbed his ear, feeling the scar, which had faded almost completely by now.  
  
"Krista and her owner applied the very next day after the fliers were put up. But they insisted on being anonymous, saying that they weren't quite ready yet. Something about building a room all your own as a 'welcome home' surprise. When they found out about your surgery costs, they donated a portion of Krista's training money every day so that you could pay your bill."  
  
"But that's... that's a lot of money... and Krista's so high leveled... it must cost a fortune to train her..." Lucky dropped his nose toward his paws guiltily.  
  
"Krista's life used to revolve around winning battles. But the day she saw you, she realized that someone else needed that money a whole lot more than she did. She gave up someTHING she loved, for someONE she was coming to love." D_D's voice was very gentle.  
  
Lucky bit his lip, remembering how impressive and frightening Krista had looked when she entered the arena. She had given that up... for him?  
  
"Krista is also younger than you, though she's a higher level. And she does look up to you, Lucky. She feels terrible about what she did, but she also looks up to you. You had it in your heart to forgive her and that even now, when you can't see, you still adapt and keep going."  
  
Lucky could hardly believe his ears; was his luck really getting better?  
  
"Finally they live on the edge of the wilderness with a huge yard, bouncy balls and trees full of Beekadoodles just chirping away in the trees. Oh..." D_D rustled some papers, "By the way Feral, they also applied to adopt you. They saw how much of a team you and Lucky were and just couldn't bear to separate you two. They match your requests too. They are fiercely caring and look out for each other. They would never forget their family, and you want you to be a part of it..."  
  
Silence stretched between the two pets as the news sunk in; they would have a family? Together?  
  
***  
  
Well I guess my story has finally come to a conclusion. Feral, Krista and I are inseparable, and our new mom is fantastic.  
  
Oh, we took a visit to Faerieland and the Healing Pool Faerie did a magical spell on my eyes. I can see again! Well, not totally. I have to wear glasses for the rest of my life, but hey, at least I can see!  
  
I've been writing to my old owner this whole time, dictating them to Feral through the times that I couldn't see, and she is very happy for me in my new home. To make up for having to let me go, she's chatting with the pros on game playing strategies and I hear she's become a Master at Cheat. She plans to adopt a new pet soon and try to be a better owner than she was able to be for me.  
  
I've changed my mind about myself. I deserve happiness because I worked for it long and hard. And I AM the luckiest pet in the world.  
  
The End. 


End file.
